


17 Again

by carolinagirl178, Pink_Strawberries



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: 17 Again AU, Ashton is that popular guy that everyone loves, Calum is that misunderstood player that everyones loves and loves to hate, He makes a wish to be 17 again, It comes true, It's Michael's 28th birthday, Luke is a goody two shoes, M/M, Michael just wants a second chance, Multi, My First AO3 Post, Slow Updates, duh - Freeform, especially luke, i hope you like it though, sorry if it's bad, wink wink
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-02
Updated: 2016-01-05
Packaged: 2018-05-11 01:24:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5608468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carolinagirl178/pseuds/carolinagirl178, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pink_Strawberries/pseuds/Pink_Strawberries
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"So, you're telling me, that you're a 28 year old man, who made a wish yesterday to be 17 again, and then today you woke up, and you were, um...17? Again?" Luke asks incredulously.</p><p>Michael nods his head.</p><p>"Yeah. Weird, right?"</p><p>-</p><p>Or when high school drop out Michael Clifford is given a cake with 28 candles by his 2 best friends and told to make a wish, he wishes for a second chance, which is exactly what he gets.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Make a wish

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! So my name is Abby, and this is my first story on AO3, and I really hope you enjoy it.
> 
> This story will have a little bit of underage smoking and drinking, but it isn't so bad. Also, I haven't decided yet where they live, but it's somewhere in America because that's where I live.
> 
> I'll try to update as often as I can, but I'm really busy, and I haven't quite decided everything I want to happen, so it may take a while. Thanks for reading!

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" 

Michael smiles as Jack and Alex, his best friends of 20 years, all but scream those words, Alex holding a cake with black icing and 28 red candles lit with fire.

"Seriously guys you didn't have to go through all this trouble for my birthday. And you know you could have just gotten those candles shaped like numbers and used the 2 and the 8." Michael says. Although he loves that his friends care about him enough to do this for him, he hasn't really been up for celebrating lately. He hasn't really been up for anything lately.

"Oh come on, Mikey. You're our best friend. We weren't just gonna pretend like it wasn't your birthday. And really? Candle numbers? Where's the fun in that?" Jack says.

"Hey. You should be thanking us for going through all this trouble for you. Not encouraging us to stop caring." Alex says. Michael sighs.

"You're right. I'm sorry. Thank you for this. Really. It means a lot." he says truthfully.

"Is everything alright?" Alex asks as he sets the cake down and sits down on the couch next to Michael while Jack just sits on the coffee table, facing the 2 boys. "Talk to us."

Michael laughs humorlessly and looks at his hands. He knows he should, but he just doesn't feel comfortable talking about it, especially considering who he's talking to. Jack and Alex. They're always telling him to forget about the past and not worry about the future until it gets here. To live in the present.

But it's hard.

It's hard to live in the present when there's nothing to live for. He works at McDonald's, his parents disowned him and cut off any communication with him, he's basically broke, and the only reason he isn't homeless yet is because his best friends let him stay with them, even though he can never pay his portion of the rent on time.

It's hard not to worry about the future when you know it's going nowhere, but you want it to go somewhere. He knows he has no future, and he knows there's nothing he can do about it.

It's hard to forget about the past when the past is the reason you can't live in the present, the reason you have no future. He was that kid in school. The kid that everyone watched and thought,  _he's going places._ He was the star. The role model for all the freshmen. The teachers' favorite. He was everything. And it was great.

Until it wasn't.

"Michael?" Michael lifted his head to look at Jack. "What's up with you?"

"Sorry. I was just, uh, lost in thought." Michael answers.

"About what?"

"Nothing. It doesn't matter."

"Michael, you know you can talk to us about anything."

"Of course. Yeah. So how about that cake? I'm starving." he says quickly, trying desperately to change the subject.

Alex and Jack share a look. Jack sighs then gets up to grab the cake and retakes his spot on the coffee table in front of Alex and Michael.

"Happy birthday, buddy," he says. "Make a wish."

Michael closes his eyes and thinks back to when he was okay. When everything in his life was good and when he was happy. He had everything figured out. Then he thinks about when he was 17. When his whole world started to spin out of control until it finally came tumbling down as he sat on the sidelines, watching, wanting to do something but not caring enough to try.

Taking a deep breath and blowing out the candles, he makes a wish.

_I wish I was 17 again._

 

-

 

Michael wakes up to the sound of nothing, feeling really weird. He looks at his alarm clock and sees that it's 10:47. Every week day at 10:00 Jack and Alex give guitar and vocal lessons to kids at a local music store, and they usually don't get back until 1:00, 3:00 on a good day. That means he has the whole place to himself.

Slowly, he starts to get out of the comfort of his bed. It's funny. He could swear it was actually easier to get out of bed. Like he isn't as heavy. Which is weird, considering he ate a lot of cake the night before. He heads into the bathroom to take a shower, but right before he takes his t-shirt off, he looks at his reflection.

Huh. Again, weird. He almost looks...  _younger._

If it weren't for his dyed red hair, piercings, and tattoos, he might have said that he looks exactly like he did when he was 17.

  _17._

_I wish I was 17 again._

 

Okay. He's officially lost it. There's no way his wish actually came true.

However, as he looked closer at his reflection, he started noticing more things that said otherwise. He was skinnier, he had no indication of wrinkles appearing soon, he didn't have as much of a beard as he did, he could even see parts of his face where he was starting to break out. Overall, he just looked younger. The weirdest part of all of this, though, is the fact that in all honesty, he just  _feels_ younger.

Then, it hits him. He's 17 again. The universe gave him a second chance.

He has a second chance at life.

He can be happy again.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first chapter is done! Please leave some feedback if you liked it. I'll try to get the second one up as soon as I can. Thanks!


	2. You chose the right person to come to

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael meets Luke, who helps him figure out what to do about his situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the second chapter! Luke makes an appearance in it (if you didn't get that from the summary), and you also learn a little bit more about his past! And it's still summer in the story right now, but school will start in about a week or so. Enjoy!

Michael paces back and forth in his bedroom, trying to figure out what he should do. I mean, he's 17 again. Should he tell someone? Should he tell Jack or Alex? Or Jack and Alex? Should he find another 17 year old and tell them?

Wait...

Ben Hemmings. Doesn't he have a 17 year old little brother? Lucas, or something? Michael has never met him himself, but he met Ben when he was 23 and Ben was 18. He was working as a bartender at the bar that Alex and Jack play at most nights when some kid came in and asked for a beer, and when asked for some ID, he gave Michael a fake one. So, Michael asked him how old he was, and he hesitated before reluctantly and guiltily told him he was 18. He was obviously very worried that Michael would get mad and kick him out or get him in trouble, but Michael just laughed, admiring his honesty, and gave him a beer, on the house.

It became a thing for him and Ben. Ben would come to the bar when Michael was working, Michael would give him a beer, making sure he doesn't drink enough to be drunk, and Ben would tell him about his life. And it was going great. Until his manager found out he was giving someone underaged alcohol, and he got fired. It was okay, though, until Ben went to college. They didn't talk as much, but they did somehow manage to hang out whenever Ben was back in town. They weren't the best of friends, but they were close enough for Michael to know that one of Ben's little brothers is 17. He's met his other brother, Jack, once or twice, but he didn't know him enough to call him a friend.

Should he talk to Lucas? He's pretty sure Ben isn't home right now, but what about Jack? He doesn't really want anyone he knows to see him like this because he wouldn't know how to explain it. Well, he could always just say, "Hey. Remember the last time you met me I was 20 something? Yeah. Well now I'm 17. Again. So how's your life?"

Yeah, he'd rather talk to someone he didn't know. Maybe he should try to talk to him. He needs to do something, right?

 

-

 

At around 12:15 in the afternoon, Michael finds himself standing in front of what he hopes to be the Hemmings house. He vaguely remembers Ben giving him his address, but he doesn't really remember exactly what he said. He already tried 5 houses. They were all wrong.

He sighs, staring at the door. Is he really doing this?

Yes. He is doing this. Okay.

He knocks on the door. No response. He knocks again. Still no response. He rings the doorbell. Right when it finishes ringing, the door opens. A boy with blonde hair covered with a blue beanie, piercing blue eyes, and very pink lips with a black hoop sitting on the left of his bottom lip is revealed. He's wearing a black t-shirt and dark blue sweat pants; he looks like he wasn't expecting to see anyone today.

Huh. He does kind of resemble Ben and Jack. Hopefully, this is it.

"Uh... Can I help you?" The boy asks.

"Yeah, um, if you're name is, uh, Lucas Hemmings?" He asks, unsure. The boy looks shocked.

"How do you know my name? Do I know you?" He asks, looking very confused.

"No. No. I, um, I'm friends with your brother, Ben."

"Oh. Well, he's not here right now. Actually, no one's here right now." Michael perks up at that.

"No one?" Lucas shakes his head. "You're here alone?"

"Um... yeah. Why?" This is his chance.

"Can I come in?" He asks. Lucas laughs.

"No. I don't even know you. I'm not going to let a stranger inside my house." Michael sighs. Great. He's a rule-follower.

This is gonna be harder than he had originally thought.

"Look, it's really important. I know you don't know me, but your brothers do. Ben said you're a nice and trustworthy guy, and I need someone to talk to. Please help me." He says quickly, almost desperately.

Lucas laughs again. "Just-tell me your name first," he says with a slight smile.

"Michael Clifford." He says with a smile of his own, holding out his hand.

"Luke," he says, shaking his outstretched hand. Luke. That's much better than Lucas. "What's so important that you're willing to talk to someone you don't know about?" He asks as he moves over to let Michael in.

Michael laughs nervously. "Okay. I know I'm gonna sound crazy, but please believe me," he says, taking a deep breath. 

This is it. Now or never.

 

-

 

So, you're telling me, that you're a 28 year old man, who made a wish yesterday to be 17 again, and then today you woke up, and you were, um...17? Again?" Luke asks incredulously. 

Michael nods his head. "Yeah. Weird, right?"

Closing his eyes, Luke exhales slowly. Michael watches him intently, trying to figure out what's going on in the boy's mind. He really hopes this goes well. If it doesn't, he won't know what to do.

Luke opens his eyes and looks at Michael. "I think-" He sighs again. "I think you chose the right person to come to." Michael cocks his head.

"Why?"

Luke snorts. "Because I'm not sure there are any other 17 year olds in this town who are crazy enough to actually believe you." Michael raises his eyebrows, a smile starting to appear on his face.

"You believe me?" He can not believe he got this lucky.

"Yeah," Luke nods. "Yeah, I believe you. I mean, I don't know why anybody would make that up. Unless they were just that desperate to go back to school." Michael scoffs at that. "But you do look more like a teenager than a 28 year old man."

"Thanks. I really thought you were gonna call the police on me." Michael says, relieved.

"Well, Jack and Ben always do say that I'm too trusting." Luke says with a chuckle. He gives Michael a once-over. "It does explain, though, why your clothes look a little too big for you," he says with a cheeky grin.

Michael sighs. He hadn't even thought of that. All of his clothes are going to be too big. "Guess I'll have to go shopping, then." 

"Hey. Maybe we can do that later, after we register you at Western High School."

What?

"We?"

"Yeah. I don't really have anything planned for the rest of the week, what with Ben and Jack gone, my parents working, and friends that are nonexistent, so I don't really mind going with you." Nonexistent friends? Why, though? He seems so nice.

Ignoring that, figuring he has plenty of time to ask about that later, he says, "Okay. But what do you mean by 'register you?'"

"At Western High School," he says as if it's the most obvious plan in the world. "You're 17. When you're 17, you're a senior in high school. So, you have to register for high school. You weren't planning on not going, were you?"

"Well-I mean-" He sighs because, honestly, he never thought about it. It's the same high school he went to when he was a kid, which was only 11 years ago, so although he does know that the principal is different (he learned that from stories Ben told him), but that doesn't mean all the teachers are. They're bound to remember the name Michael Clifford.

"Why did you wish to be 17 again?" Luke asks, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Um..." He doesn't know what to say. Should he be honest? Should he lie? Lying probably isn't a good way to start a friendship. "I, uh, I wanted a second chance," he says quietly.

Luke raises an eyebrow. "A second chance?"

Michael nods. "Yeah. I messed up, when I was 17, and it's all kind of, just - I don't know. I just want to be happy again." He knows he sounds desperate right now, but he doesn't care.

"What did you do? When you were 17?" Luke asks, unsure if he should really be asking.

Michael thinks back to the first time he was 17. He was happy and completely fine, but he always did have a slight feeling that he was missing something. But then.

Then he met him.

Taking a deep breath, he says, voice slightly shaking, "I dropped out of school."

"Oh." Michael can tell by the tone of his voice that he knows he isn't telling him the whole truth, and he appreciates the fact that he isn't pushing any further. Instead, he says, "If you really want a second chance, then don't you think you should start by, I don't know, going to school?"

"Well, yeah," Michael says, "but, Luke, this is the same high school I went to 11 years ago. Some teachers are going to remember Michael Clifford."

"Who's to say they'll remember you?"

Michael snorts. "Trust me. They will."

Luke's quiet for a while, with an odd look on his face. Michael assumes it's his thinking face.

"Okay," he says, "what if, we just tell them you're his brother?" Michael raises an eyebrow. "I mean, I'm guessing you didn't have the dyed hair, tattoos, and piercings when you were 17?"

"No, but-"

"So you don't look exactly like you did when you were 17?"

"No, but-"

"Great, so that'll work!" Luke says excitedly.

"Yeah, except what parents, in their right minds, would name both of their kids Michael?" Michael asks.

Luke shrugs. "Hey. They're your parents, not mine." Michael sighs. "So. We gonna get you registered, or what?"

 

-

 

It turns out that Luke's mom is actually a math teacher at this high school, so it was easy for Luke and Michael to get their hands on the paperwork. Filling it out was a breeze as well, until they reached the part about his parents/legal guardians.

"I guess you're going to have to explain this to your parents, then, to get them to sign this," Luke says.

"But I don't live with my parents anymore," he says.

"Oh." Michael laughs bitterly.

"I don't even talk to them anymore."

"Why not?" Michael looks at him with a _duh_ look. "Oh. Because of what happened when you were 17?" Michael nods. "Sorry."

"Thanks."

They're quiet for a while, until Luke breaks the silence, asking, "Do you live with anyone else?"

Michael nods. "Yeah. Yeah, I live with-" he stops, eyes going wide. Jack and Alex.

He hadn't even thought about how he was going to explain this whole situation to them.

"Um, do you think whoever you live with can be your legal guardian?" Luke asks awkwardly.

Michael sighs, closing his eyes. He doesn't really have a choice, does he? He's going to have to tell them. Who knows? Maybe this won't change anything between them. It's Jack and Alex. His best friends of 20 years.

He isn't even 20 now, though. He's 17.

This will definitely be weird.

"Yeah," he says.

 

-

 

When he finally heads home around 4 pm, he gets a call from Alex.

"Hey, Al-"

"Oh my god, where are you? Where have you been? Is everything okay? Are you feeling alright? Do you need us to pick you up? Bail you out of jail? Anything? Michael, say something!"

Michael laughs. "How was I supposed to say something when you never gave me a chance to? I'm fine."

He hears Alex sigh. "Are you coming home?"

"Yeah, but, listen, I need to tell you something kinda crazy." He can't believe he's doing this.

"Yeah, I'm listening, " Alex says.

Michael sighs. "Remember last night, when Jack told me to, uh, make a wish?"

"Yeah."

"I did."

"Um, okay?"

"And, uh..." He swallowed.

"It came true."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it may seem like it's kind of going slow right now, but I promise it'll pick up probably in the next chapter, and if things go well, then Ashton and Calum should be in this next one as well.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it, and please leave some feedback! I will try to have the third one up today or tomorrow. Thanks!


	3. It's your first day of school in, like, 11 years

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the first day of school, aka Michael's first time going to school in roughly 11 years!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 3!
> 
> The school system I'm using in this story is the one we use at my school, which is 4 classes one day, then 4 different classes the next day. Also, the Hemmings family moved when Luke was 12 because Liz got a job as a teacher at WHS. I just thought I should tell you that before the chapter, so you aren't confused. Enjoy!

Michael wakes up to the feeling of weight on him. He hears the sound of someone laughing getting louder and louder, but right before he finally gets the strength to open his eyes, he feels another weight on him.

"Rise and shine, Mikey," Alex says. "Guess what today is?"

Michael groans. "Shut up," he says groggily. "Let me sleep."

"Bro. It's your first day of school in, like, 11 years," Jack says.

Michael sighs dramatically and opens his eyes. He still can't believe how well they took this. When he explained to them exactly what happened to him that day, you know what they did? They laughed. They actually laughed. Like they thought it was  _funny._

He kind of hated them a little bit because of that, but that night when he was lying in bed thinking about the day's events, he realized that if he was in their shoes, he would laugh too. When told to make a wish, he could have just wished for a second chance. But no. He wished to literally start over.

Maybe he really does need to go back to school.

They did end up signing the papers for the high school, so they are now officially (as far as the school knows) his legal guardians. That's going to make any phone calls or conferences really awkward.

"Can you get off me? I need to get up," he says, albeit not wanting to move at all. He is not sure what time it is, but he knows it's way too early for his liking. His brain just refuses to function any earlier than noon.

Once they're both off of him, they leave the room, telling him that they're going to get some cereal, and he should join them once he's dressed. After they close the door, though, Michael lays in bed a little while longer, thinking about how crazy all of this really is. He honestly can't believe he's about to go to school again. It just doesn't feel real to him.

Finally, he gets himself out of bed and makes his way to his closet filled with new clothes that he bought with Luke-well, that  _Luke_ bought (due to Michael's confession of nearly being broke and Luke's big heart)-and grabs a black tank top that says METALLICA in white letters across the top and a pair of black jeans and heads to the bathroom to take a shower.

 

-

 

Michael walks into the kitchen, seeing Jack sitting at the counter with a bowl of cereal. "Where's Alex?"

"I'm over here," Alex says, sitting on the couch and watching the news, although Michael's pretty sure he's not paying any attention to the TV. Michael nods and gets himself a bowl of cereal as well, taking a seat next to Jack.

"Is Luke picking you up?"Jack asks. It takes Michael a while to figure out what it was he said due to all the food in his mouth. Once he does figure it out, he nods. He doesn't have a car, so Luke told him that he could drive him to school. He's been trying to get enough money to buy a car. It's the only reason he hasn't quit his job yet.

Oh god.

His job!

How could he forget about his job? How is he going to explain the fact that he looks younger? Or the fact that he hasn't shown up in a week? He works on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. He didn't show up on any of those days. Maybe he should quit. He's probably going to be fired anyway.

But he needs the money.

His thoughts are interrupted by his phone beeping. When he looks at it, he sees a text from Luke saying that he's here.

"I gotta go. Bye guys," he says while getting up and grabbing a black snapback to put on. He hears Jack mutter a 'bye.'

"Call us if you need anything, okay? And if we're not here when you get back, call us and tell us how it went," Alex somewhat yells from the couch. Michael laughs, giving him a nod. Alex was always the protective one. Michael imagines he would make a good father. Most of the time.

He walks out of his apartment building and heads toward Luke's car.  He gets in the passenger seat and closes the door, giving Luke a little smile to say hey. "Are you ready?" Luke asks.

Michael sighs dramatically. "No."

Luke chuckles and pats Michael's thigh. "Don't worry. You'll be fine. And hey. You know what? You already have one friend. It can't be too hard to make more." Michael smiles, and Luke starts driving.

They don't really talk the rest of the way. It's mostly just silence, but it's a comfortable silence. They took the week before as an opportunity to get to know each other better. Michael had told Luke about how he met Ben. Luke had told him about what his life was like before he moved vs after he moved (he moved when he was 12, the same year Michael met Ben). Apparently, he did have friends before the move, but when he moved to this town, he started focusing more on school, so he hasn't really given himself the time to make friends. He does miss his old friends, though, and Michael thinks he gets a little lonely sometimes, considering he's being so nice to him, someone he hardly even knows, almost like he was desperate for a friend.

Luke had told him about how he's that kid at school that sits in the front but still appears to be in the background. He always stays away from the drama. He just watches the drama unfold, but still focuses on his schoolwork. Kind of like an extra in a TV show. Michael had told him about how he was the It-boy before he was 17. Luke still didn't push him to talk about what happened when he was 17, which just made Michael appreciate him even more.

Then, Luke had told him about how he wanted to be a veterinarian because he loves animals and hates the idea of some not getting the help they need. By then, Michael had decided that this guy was an angel sent from heaven to bring good back into the world. When he had asked Michael what he wanted to be if this second chance worked out, he froze. He'd wanted to be a writer. He was good too. He remembers how even when he started to lose it, he could always turn to writing to calm him down. How when people started to notice a change in him, his English teacher, Mrs. Furr, never lost faith in him.

How he let her down.

After everything came crashing down for Michael, he had written one last thing before throwing his dream of being a famous writer in the dump, along with everything he's ever written. Except for the last thing. A song. He couldn't throw it away, it meant too much to him. It represented who he had become rather than who he was before. Instead, he buried it deep in a droor in his room, hoping it was hidden enough for no one to ever find.

The car comes to a stop, and Michael is pulled out of his thoughts. "We're here," Luke says, grabbing his bag and getting out.

Michael sighs, still sitting in Luke's car, alone. "We're here," he echoes, quietly. He hears a tap on the window and turns his head to find Luke staring at him.

"You coming?" he asks through the window. Michael answers with a quick 'yeah,' grabs his stuff, and gets out.

They make their way into the school, and Luke hands Michael his schedule, saying he had his mom give it to him because he totally forgot about it when they were hanging out. He also mentions something about how they have 2 classes together today and 2 tomorrow and something about their lockers, but Michael wasn't really listening.

Instead, he is people watching. Looking at everyone as they pass by him. No one pays any attention to him, which he is thankful for because it would be awkward if someone looks at him, and he's staring at them.

He sees Luke stop, so he stops as well, staring at Luke rather than the people passing him. "Um... I think this is your locker," Luke says, looking unsure. He glances from Michael's schedule, to the locker in front of him, back to the schedule. "Yes. Yes. This is your locker," he says confidently.

Michael smiles. "Thanks, Luke," he says, and Luke returns the smile.

"No problem. I'm going to find mine now." And with that, Michael was alone again. He opens his locker and looks at his schedule. First, he has Physics. Yay. He has music class after that, and then it's lunch. After lunch, he has English, then study hall. He wonders which of those he has with Luke. Maybe he should have been listening.

He starts putting the things he doesn't need into his locker when he hears a bunch of people start saying hey to some dude named Ashton. He turns around and sees a guy with wavy, honey brown hair, hazel eyes, and possibly the biggest, brightest smile Michael has ever seen laughing and waving to the people who spoke to him. To make things better, he has a great laugh that some people might say sounds like heaven. Michael wonders if this Ashton guy is the It-boy of this generation.

Suddenly, he turns to Michael and heads to the locker next to the one next to Michael's. As he watches the kid open it and start putting stuff in it with a slight smile on his face, he remembers what it was like to be in his shoes. People stopping him in the halls and talking to him, being invited to every party, making everyone, including the teachers, laugh during class, having no enemies. He misses that. He doubts that will happen again, especially if they already have an It-boy. Believe it or not, he actually isn't that lucky.

Pushing those memories back to where they were before, in the back of his mind, he closes his locker, gathers his stuff, and walks away. He glances at his schedule to see what room he needs to go to and reads the name of his teacher: Mrs. Sullivan. He doesn't recognize that name. That's a good sign. Maybe she wasn't here 11 years ago.

He finds his classroom and walks in but freezes to look at the front row, but doesn't see Luke. Oh well. He'll just have to make new friends. Or not. He doesn't really care.

He starts scanning the room, looking for a place to sit. He finally does find an empty seat in the back, and he's about to walk towards it, but instead his eyes wander to the person sitting diagonal from the empty seat. He's slumped back in his chair, his right arm draped across his torso, and his left arm resting slightly on his desk, eyes glued to the phone in his left hand, making it hard for Michael to see them. He has raven black hair with a couple of blonde streaks that contrast greatly with the black, and his skin is perfectly tanned. He is wearing a black t-shirt that has words written in white, but Michael couldn't make out what they spell because of his arm and the way his body is positioned.

For some reason, even when the boy looks up from his phone and stares right at him, he can't bring himself to look away and walk to the empty seat.

But the boy doesn't look away either.

They stay like that for a couple of seconds, just staring at each other, until Michael finally convinces his legs to move, bringing his eyes away from the boy, and he walks to the empty seat. It's funny, though, because he could swear that as he made his way to said empty seat, he could still feel the guy's stare burning holes in his skin. So, once he sits down in the seat, he dares himself to look back up at him, and is shocked to see that he's still looking at him.

This time, though, Michael can see his eyes. Brown. Big. Kind of like a puppy. But there's something off about them. They look almost empty. There's no emotion, like the person they belong to is using them as a cover-up. To hide behind them. So, Michael decides to try something.

He smiles.

The big, brown, puppy eyes blink, and his eyebrows furrow slightly, as if he wasn't expecting a smile. Michael can almost see a little bit of shock and confusion, but then he looks away from Michael and back at his phone. That went well.

The bell chooses that time to ring, and the teacher, Mrs. Sullivan, introduces herself and begins to call the role, and Michael starts internally freaking out.

"Please don't recognize my name," he whispers quietly to himself.

"Michael Clifford?" She calls, causing him to jump a little.

He clears his throat and puts his hand up. 

"Here."

She nods, smiling and moving on. Michael lets out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

One down, six to go. He's got this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was actually pretty long!
> 
> Ashton and Calum were in it a little bit, but they'll be in it more later. This one was just to sort of introduce them, and for you guys to see what they're like.
> 
> I'm not sure when I'll have the next chapter up, but I'm going back to school tomorrow, and I'm in 2 AP classes, so I'm really busy, but I'll have it up as soon as possible.
> 
> Thanks!


	4. It's not everyday you meet someone with red hair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael tries to survive the rest of his first day of school without his teachers getting too suspicious. Also, Michael meets new people and learns more about Luke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is chapter 4!
> 
> This chapter is basically just the end of his first day of school. It may seem like it's going slow right now, but it should pick up once he properly meets Ashton and Calum, which will be soon ;-)
> 
> There will also be a lot more dialogue in this chapter.

The bell rings, indicating it's time to head to second period. Mrs. Sullivan tells them goodbye, and Michael gets up and grabs his bag. He turns around but stops as he watches The Boy leaving the classroom, realizing something.

He never caught his name.

He remembers zoning out after Mrs. Sullivan had moved on from him, wondering how the rest of the day would go, so he didn't hear the rest of the people on the role. Great. Now he's just going to have to be The Boy.

He looks at his schedule to see what classroom he has to go to next, and his heart stops. Mrs. Brooks. His music teacher since sophomore year. She's still here. Makes sense. She was pretty young. The first year she started teaching at this school in his sophomore year was also the first year she started teaching, period. Her being young meant she was one of the teachers who always laughed at him when he said something funny or made a joke. She was basically like one of the students when it came to him. She loved him.

He starts slowing down, unsure if he really wants to go through with this or just hide in the bathroom for the whole period. However, when he hears someone call his name, he completely stops and turns around to see Luke making his way toward him. "You ready for music class?" He asks when he reaches Michael.

"Oh no. You have that class with me?" Michael says incredulously.

Luke furrows his eyebrows. "Yeah. Why?"

Michael sighs defeatedly, muttering, "There goes my plan to hide in the bathroom."

"What?" It was Luke's turn to sound incredulous. "Why on earth would you want to hide in the bathroom? If you really don't like music class, then you shouldn't have signed up for it." Michael shakes his head.

"Are you kidding? I loved music class. Including the teacher," Michael shows Luke the schedule, pointing to her name, "Mrs. Brooks."

Luke's eyes cloud with understanding. "Hey, it's okay. Remember the plan? Just act natural, and if she doesn't say anything about it, you don't say anything about it. If she does, your his brother. Well,  _your_ brother. You know what I mean. C'mon. I don't want to be late." With that, Luke starts walking off. Michael takes a deep breath, holds it, and lets it out. Luke's right. It'll be fine.

He gets to the classroom and sees Luke waiting outside for him. Michael smiles at him, and they start to walk in, but right when they hear a middle-aged, feminine voice say, "Last name?" Michael stops. Luke turns to him.

"She's asking for last names," Michael says, slightly terrified.

"Hey, you'll be fine," Luke reassures him. "Just remember the plan." Michael nods.

Luke walks away, and Michael hears, "Last name?"

He looks at Luke and Mrs. Brooks. "Hemmings," Luke says confidently. She starts looking down the role, then looks back up at him.

"Lucas?"

"Luke, actually."

She nods, "Thank you." Luke smiles, then turns around to sit in an empty seat in the front. He sends Michael a thumbs up. Michael closes his eyes and exhales. Then, he opens them, smiles, and starts walking.

Past Mrs. Brooks's desk.

"Last name?" He freezes, back to the desk. He thought he could get away with that.

He winces before turning around quickly and saying, "Clifford."

She starts looking down the role. "Cliff-Michael, Clifford?" She says, and Michael can definitely tell that she recognizes the name.

"Uh, yeah. That's me," he says with a quick smile before turning around.

But then, "You know, I taught a Michael Clifford, around 10 years ago," Michael slowly turns back to her. "He was a good kid."

Michael nods. "Ah." Then, he turns around again.

"Is there any relation, between the two of you? You do look like him, sort of." He's panicking now, frozen in place. He looks to Luke, who isn't paying any attention to him. Okay. Looks like he's alone.

Finally, he faces her again. "Yeah. We're, uh, brothers." She looks up at him, eyebrows raised.

"Your parents named both of their kids Michael Gordon Clifford?"

He puts his hands defensively. "Hey. It's not my business what my parents name me or why."

She gives him a weird look because, in all honesty, it is  _his_ _name_ , so it technically is his business. Luckily, though, she just laughs it off with an "okay."

"But hey," Michael adds, feeling less nervous. "At least they were original."

Mrs. Brooks laughs again. "Yes. Very original. You know what? I shouldn't be judging them, anyways. "

Michael laughs and replies, "Hey, judge them all you want. As long as you don't judge me." She starts laughing again.

"You are definitely like him. He was funny too. So, do you play the guitar as well?" He nods, smiling. "He was very good. One of the best, actually. Are you any good?" 

He shakes his head. "Ah, I don't know it has been a while. Like years, actually." She looks shocked at this. "I'm trying to get back into it." She nods in understanding.

"You know, he never mentioned a brother."

"Um, yeah. I didn't live with him. It's kind of a long story, but I wanted a fresh start, and he told me about this school, so here I am." He lies.

"Well in that case, welcome to Western High School. I hope you like it here," she says kindly with a professional smile.

Michael smiles. "Thank you. I'm sure I will." Just before he turns around to take a seat, she asks something that makes Michael to completely freeze up.

"What is he up to right now?" What does he say? He and Luke didn't discuss that. He really is freaking out now. He does the easiest thing he can think of in order to stall a little while longer.

"Sorry? I didn't catch that." She smiles at that.

"Your brother. What is he up to?"

"Uh... He's, um, you know... He's-He's... In... G-Germany?" Germany? Really?

She blinks, shocked. "Really?"

He exhales. "Yep."

"He's in Germany?"

"That's... What I said," he says awkwardly.

"Hm. Well tell him I said hi. And I hope he's happy."

Michael smiles genuinely. "Will do. And I'm sure he's fine." With that, he takes a seat behind Luke.

 

-

 

Once the bell rings, Mrs. Brooks dismisses the class, and Michael and Luke stand up. After they exit the classroom, Luke turns to Michael.

"Hey. Usually on the first day of school, I spend the lunch helping my mom prepare her classroom for the year. You can come if you want. I mean, I want you to come, so you can meet her, but you don't have to stay. I mean you don't have to meet her, but I'd like you to. She's really nice, and she always bugs me about making friends, so she'd be happy to see that I have one," Luke rambles.

Michael laughs at his awkwardness. " Yeah, sure. Why not?"

They walk into a classroom, and a woman with blonde hair up to about her shoulders, maybe a little bit past, with bangs hanging down on her forehead is sitting at the desk. She looks up and smiles at the sight of the two boys.

"Hey, sweetheart. Is this a friend of yours?" Liz asks, glancing at Michael.

Luke nods proudly. "Yeah. Yeah, this is Michael. I met him last week. He knew Jack and Ben."

"Oh really?" Michael nods. "How?"

"Um.. I, met Ben, at my job. A few years ago."

Liz looks a little taken aback. "A few years ago? What are you, 17? You had a job when you were 14?"

Michael chuckles at that. "Yeah, um, I needed the money."

"Oh. Well it's very nice to see that my little Lukey finally has a friend," she says with a proud grin, pinching Luke's cheeks.

Luke swats her hand away, blushing. "Mom," he whines. By now, Michael is cracking up. He loves seeing how Luke's mom is with her son. She obviously really loves him. He hasn't seen that in a really long time because of his fallout with his parents. Alex and Jack knew how hard it was for him, so they never brought up their parents around him, and he was thankful for that.

He misses it, though. Watching Luke and Mrs. Hemmings talk like this and seeing that proud smile on her face that says that this kid is her world, he starts remembering how his relationship with his parents used to be just like that. They were so proud of him, how loved he was, and how much he was bound to accomplish that once he started cracking, they never noticed.

They never noticed all the nights when he snuck out to be with Him. They never noticed his tired, red, puffy eyes. They never noticed his grades slowly starting to drop. They never noticed how his permanemt smile had become a permanent frown. They never noticed how he had become a grenade, waiting for just the right amount of pressure to finally explode.

Eventually, he can't take it anymore, so he clears his throat. They both look at him. "Um, you know, it was great, meeting you, Mrs. Hemmings, but I'm, uh, I'm getting kinda hungry, so I'm gonna, go get some food. Yeah. But it was great meeting you." He smiles. "Bye, Luke."

"I'll see you in study hall!" Luke calls before he exits the room.

 

-

 

He wasn't actually hungry. He just needed an excuse to leave before he had a break down.

So now he's in the library, looking through the books on a random shelf, just trying to find something to keep him occupied for the rest of lunch.

He finally finds something to read, so he takes it and goes to find a place to sit. As he's looking at all the tables, trying to find an empty one to sit at, he spots The Boy sitting at a table next to an empty table, which is next to another empty table. But he's not alone. There's a girl next to him, and although he's looking at their backs, he can tell they're getting into an argument, from the way her body is moving somewhat frantically. His body looks calm and relaxed, though. It's still, as if he couldn't care less about whatever it is she appears to care a lot about. As if the argument is one-sided.

Finally, he sits down at the table farthest away from the couple, not wanting to get too close to them. He doesn't want to eavesdrop on an obviously private conversation, and if he was close enough, he probably would. He opens his book. He remembers it was one of his favorites when he was in high school, and he remembers sometimes when he just wanted some peace and quiet, he would come to the library, grab the book off the shelf, and just read. He smiles at the memory.

All of a sudden, he hears a bang, causing him to look up just in time to see the girl sitting with The Boy storming out of the library. He glances at him to see that he's still sitting with his back to Michael, watching the girl leave. Then, he gets up from his seat and starts to leave until he catches Michael's eye. This time, though, Michael doesn't keep staring at him because he didn't want it to look like he was intruding. So he goes back to reading his book.

"Whatcha reading?" Michael lifts his eyes up without moving his head and sees a black t-shirt that reads DESTROY EVERYTHING, REGRET NOTHING on it. He lifts his head finally and finds himself staring into The Boy's eyes (for, what, like, the fourth time today? That's gotta be some kind of record.). Even though they look empty and emotionless, they're still the most breathtaking eyes Michael has ever seen.

"Sorry?" He asks once he realizes that he had asked a question.

The Boy raises his eyebrows. "What book are you reading?"

"Oh. It's, uh, _The Sound and the Fury_ ," he replies, finally breaking eye contact, looking down at his book. The Boy sits down in the chair across from Michael.

" _The Sound and the Fury_?" He echoes, thoughtfully. "Hm. That's an interesting name."

Michael smiles. "You know what it's from? The name?" The Boy shakes his head. "It's from a soliloquy in _Macbeth._ " Michael chuckles to himself before continuing. "I used to be obsessed with it. I wrote it literally everywhere because I wanted to brag to people that I memorized something from Shakespeare." He bites lip, remembering the times when he was actually happy. The Good Memories.

"Do you remember any of it now?" Michael's head snaps up, completely forgetting that he had company.

"Actually, yeah. I mean, it's not all of it, but it's still a great part."

"Can I hear it?"

"Really?" The Boy nods. "Okay. Um," he clears his throat and looks back down at the book. "Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more: it is a tale, told by an idiot, of sound and fury, signifying nothing," he quotes. When he looks back up at The Boy, he sees him smiling. It's a beautiful smile that makes Michael's heart smile, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. Oh, how beautiful it would be if it did. It could probably end all wars. Maybe even World Hunger. Global Warming. It could save lives. Okay. Now he's pushing it.

Maybe it could save his life.

"I'm Michael," he says, holding out his hand with a genuine smile. "Michael Clifford."

"Calum Hood," The Boy says, shaking Michael's hand, still smiling. In that moment, staring into this guy's eyes (now the fifth time) and seeing how empty they are, he decides that he's going to try to fix it. He remembers when his eyes looked the same, but no one noticed. At least, if they did, they didn't do anything.

He doesn't want Calum to have the same future he did. He wants him to have a future.

 

-

 

The last bell of the day rings, telling the students that they can all leave. Michael and Luke get up from their seats, and Luke tells Michael that he has to stop by his mom's classroom, but he'll meet him at Michael's locker. Michael nods, and they part ways, both heading in opposite directions.

Everything seemed to roll smoothly after lunch. He and Calum didn't talk after they introduced themselves. They just sat in silence, Michael reading his book and Calum looking through his phone till the bell rang.

English was easy, especially because his teacher was not Mrs. Furr. It was Mr. McCloy, someone he didn't recognize. He seems very nice, though. Michael can tell he's going to like that class. He was surprised to see Ashton in that class as well. Maybe he'll learn more about him. Study hall was also easy. He and Luke just talked about random stuff the whole class.

He was already at his locker when he saw Ashton go to his locker. Michael could swear he could hear him humming quietly to himself. "Hey, Michael. Are you--" Luke stops dead in his tracks, staring at what Michael believes is Ashton with wide eyes. Why is Luke staring at Ashton like that?

Luke turns to Michael sharply. "Your locker is next to  _Ashton Irwin's_?" Luke says, sounding awestruck but also a bit terrified.

"Uh, no. It's next to the one next to his. Why does it matter?" He looks closer at Luke. "Oh my god, your blushing! Does little Lukey have a little crush?" Michael says playfully.

"Shut up," Luke grumbles. Michael glances behind him at Ashton, then back at Luke.

"He's in my English class. Have you ever talked to him?" Luke shakes his head shyly. "C'mon. Let's talk to him." He pulls Luke with him, closer to Ashton. "Hey," he says, causing Ashton to look at the two boys. He smiles at them. "Ashton, right?" He nods.

"Yeah. Hey. You're in my English class, right? Michael Clifford?"

Michael laughs. "You actually remember my name?"

"Well, it's not everyday you meet someone with red hair. Literally."

"Right. So, um, this is my friend, Luke." Ashton looks at Luke.

"Oh! You're Mrs. Hemmings's son?" Luke nods, eyes wide and cheeks pink. "Oh, I love her! She taught me last year. Gonna be honest, I hated math until then. She's amazing. She talked about you and your brothers a lot."

If it's possible, Luke's eyes get wider, and his cheeks get pinker. "Sh-she talked about me?" He asks nervously.

"Hey, don't worry. She didn't tell us any embarrassing stories about you as a kid. Just that you're her world, and she would do anything for you," Ashton reassures Luke, flashing him an award-winning smile filled with dimples. Michael could swear he could actually see Luke's heart jump. "Well, I gotta go, but I'll see you tomorrow?" Michael nods, and with that Ashton was gone.

"I can't believe you made me do that," Luke says once they start making their way to Luke's car. Michael laughs. "I hate you."

"Why?"

Because you just made me talk to my crush of five years, who I have never talked to before-"

"Whoa. Hold up. Your crush of _five_ years? And that was your first time talking to him?" Michael scoffs. "Man, I just did you a favor. You should be thanking me." Luke laughs and shakes his head.

 

-

 

Michael walks into his apartment to find Jack and Alex sitting on the couch, watching _Friends_. "Hey," he says. They both turn to look at him.

"How was it?" Alex asks.

_How was it?_

Michael thinks about his day. He thinks about his already best friend, Luke the Angel, he thinks about his weird Physics teacher, he thinks about music class with Mrs. Brooks, he thinks about Luke's relationship with his mom, _The Sound and the Fury_ , Mr. McCloy and his English class, the It-boy his best friend is crushing on, having study hall last block with Luke. He thinks about Calum.

Calum Hood. That mysterious kid with the tan skin, perfectly contrasting hair, gorgeous, heart-warming smile, big, brown, puppy eyes. Empty eyes. He thinks about how he's going to fill the emptiness as best he can. He knows it won't be easy, but he's determined to make sure he escapes the fate that Michael could not.

Finally, with a smile, he answers, "It was okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! This chapter was long! I hope you liked it! I don't think I have much more to say, except I probably won't have a lot of time today, tomorrow, or Wednesday, but you can expect the next chapter some time around the end of the week. Thanks!


	5. Prove me wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Michael's second day of school, and he decides it's time to try making some friends. That can't be too hard, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's Chapter 5! The part in italics is a flashback. It might be a little bit depressing, but it's not too bad. I think that's all I have to say for this chapter. Enjoy! c:

Michael and Luke get out of Luke's car, heading to the school entrance. 

"What do you have first?" Luke asks Michael. Michael takes his schedule out of his jeans pocket and looks at it.

"Um... Calculus. Ha! With your mom! That's great," Michael says with a smile on his face, and Luke laughs and shakes his head.

"Of course. First my crush, now my best friend. If she says anything embarrassing about me, it isn't true," Now it's Michael's turn to laugh.

"Sure, okay," he says sarcastically. They reach his locker.

"Hey, have you made any new friends, yet?" Luke asks, turning to face Michael.

Michael scoffs. "Oh yeah. You see this?" he gestures to the hall full of people paying no attention to the pair whatsoever. "They love me already."

"Bummer. Guess I'll have to start sharing you, then." Luke teases. "Seriously, though. No friends?" Michael shakes his head. "Do you want any friends? Or am I enough?" Michael thought about it for a little bit. Does he want friends? Well, he is trying to start over. That means becoming social again. Plus, Luke's a great friend and everything, but it would be nice to have at least one friend in all of his classes, and Luke isn't in all of his classes.

Someone catches Michael's eye over Luke's shoulder. He has a jacket on today, covering his tanned arms, and black jeans. He's leaning his left arm on the lockers by the wall in a way that allows Michael to only see the right side of him, but he can still tell who it is because of the raven hair.

Somehow Michael always finds his eyes drawn to Calum. He doesn't know what it is about him, but he can't seem to bring himself to look away. He's facing an open locker, probably his own, and he is looking down at his phone in his right hand. He seems to look at his phone a lot. Maybe he's one of those teenagers with a 'phone addiction.' Michael never understood that, but that probably has something to do with the fact that he isn't actually  _supposed_ to be a teenager.

"Michael? Are you listening?" Luke asks, snapping Michael out of his thoughts and tearing his gaze away from the boy.

"Hmm?" he says while raising his eyebrows, indicating that he was, in fact, not listening.

"Is there anyone you're interested in getting to know? I might be able to help you if I know them. Or if I've heard of them before," Luke says. Michael considers this. Is there anyone he really wants to befriend?

He finds himself looking back over Luke's shoulder at the boy with a possible phone addiction leaning on the lockers. "What about him?" he gestures toward him, not taking his eyes off him while doing so. Luke's eyebrows furrow in confusion, but he follows Michael's gaze to see who Michael's talking about. When he looks back at Michael, one of his eyebrows is raised, as if asking if Michael was being serious or not. But that seems kind of weird. Why would Luke think he was kidding?

"Calum Hood?" Michael nods. "I'm not sure that's a good idea," Luke says, chuckling nervously. Why would this conversation make Luke nervous? What is he even talking about? Why isn't it a good idea. Michael's really confused.

"Why not?" he asks, frowning. Luke looks at Calum again, then back at Michael with an odd look on his face.

"He's... He doesn't have the bast reputation," he says finally.

Michael shrugs. "So? That doesn't mean he's a bad person. Besides, he seemed nice enough yesterday," he says nonchalantly. Luke looks confused.

"You never talked to him in music class, though." Now it's Michael's turn to look confused. Music class?

"What? No. I talked to him in the library during lunch yesterday. Wha-he's in our music class, too?"

"Too? What other class is he in?"

"Physics. I still don't understand how he can be a bad person. I mean, yeah, he seemed a little closed off, but it wasn't so bad. He actually seemed like a nice guy."

Luke's quiet for a while, the expression on his face unreadable. When Michael decides to see if Calum is still there, he is shocked to see the Calum is already looking at him. He still has his phone in his right hand, and he is still standing next an open locker. What's different, though, is the fact that he has now shifted himself so that he was facing Michael, and his eyes were staring right at him, but they weren't as empty today as they were yesterday. They were narrowed, and Calum's eyebrows were furrowed a little bit, as if he's deep in thought. It almost looks to Michael like Calum is trying to figure him out. To add on to that, the fact that Calum hasn't even moved and inch since they made eye contact has Michael convinced that he doesn't even realize Michael's looking at him as well.

"What did you talk about?" Michael looks back at Luke. "In the library yesterday," Luke elaborates.

"My book," Michael says. Luke exhales deeply.

"Okay," he says. "Okay. Maybe you're right. Maybe he's just misunderstood." Michael smiles at this.

"He is," Michael says confidently. He really doesn't know why he's so convinced that Calum is a good guy. Maybe he just reminds Michael of himself when he was 17 the first time. It kind of scares him a little if he's being honest.

Before Luke could walk away, Ashton walks up to his locker but stops upon seeing the two boys. "Oh. Hey Michael," he says with a smile on his face, and Michael smiles back. Ashton turns to Luke, his smile faltering a little, and he reaches his arm up to scratch his head nervously. "Uh... What's your name again?" he asks sheepishly. He doesn't remember Luke's name. That isn't good. At least he looks guilty about it.

Luke's face falls a little bit, and Michael can tell that his long time crush not remembering his name crushed him. "it's Luke," he says, and Michael could sense some bitterness in his tone.

Ashton's smile gets bigger. "Right. Luke. Mrs. Hemmings's son. I remember now." He chuckles quietly. "I'm sorry. I'm really bad with names. I have the hardest time remembering people's names when I first meet them."

"That's funny. You seemed to remember Michael's just fine. Twice now," Luke mutters, loud enough for Michael to hear him but not Ashton as he has now turned to focus on opening his locker. Michael gives Luke an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry," he whispers. He really doesn't know what else to say. Because come on, his crush of five years didn't remember his name. What if that means Ashton didn't feel Luke was important enough to remember?

Luke gives Michael a weak smile as if to say it's okay, but Michael could tell by Luke's eyes that it was not okay. "I'm gonna go now," he says quietly. Michael nods, giving Luke one last smile. "I'll see you later," he says before turning to walk away. 

"What class do you have first?" Ashton asks, turning to look at Michael right as Luke is leaving. He furrows his eyebrows. "Where is he going?"

"To his locker," Michael says. Ashton nods, pursing his lips and humming in response. "And, uh, Calculus. With his mom." Ashton's face lights up.

"Are you serious?" Michael nods, confused. "No way, me too! You wanna walk with me?"

Michael is about to say yes, but then he thinks about Luke. Would he hate him for walking with the guy he likes? For befriending his crush who could possibly think Luke doesn't deserve to be remembered? Surely he wouldn't mind. Besides, maybe it was just a mistake. He is human, after all. Maybe he will remember it next time.

"Sure."

 

-

 

Michael hates math. He was always pretty good at it, but he hates it. However, having a teacher that he already knows and likes, it wasn't so bad. His next class after Calculus was French, which he had with Luke. His teacher was named Madame Moore, and though she did teach when Michael went here 11 years ago, he never had her, so she just kind of shrugged it off, thinking they just happened to have the same name. She seemed nice. Maybe a little strict at some times, but overall, nice.

Now, it is lunch time, and Luke is talking with his mother. Michael didn't want to intrude, so he decided to go to the library again. So that's where he is at the moment. Sitting at the same table as he was the day before, reading the same book as he did the day before, constantly glancing up at the back of the same tan skinned, raven haired boy sitting two tables down as he did the day before. He wants to talk to him, but he doesn't exactly know what to say. He should ask him if he wants to hang out this weekend. Because he wants to get to know him. He wants to learn everything about him. What his favorite color is, what makes him snap, what he enjoys doing in his free time. Everything.

Why, though?

Michael really doesn't know why his brain is so determined to learn so much about the guy he's really only talked to once, and they hardly even said anything. Maybe he is intrigued by the mystery about his eyes. Why are they always so blank? Is it possible for them to show emotion? Michael thinks it is possible, and oh how great it would feel to be the reason for that emotion. Wait. What?

He closes his eyes, exhaling. He really does not know what all these thoughts are about. Why would he care if the emotion in this kid's eyes were for him or not? Besides, there is always the chance that the first emotion he ever shows in those big, brown, puppy eyes is anger. He wouldn't want to be the reason for that. He would not want to see those eyes mad. He would not want to make them mad. He wants to make them happy. He wants to see the boy in front of him genuinely happy. That's what he wants to be the reason for. It would probably make him the hap-

His phone starts buzzing wildly on the table, interrupting his strange thoughts. He looks at it and sees that Jack is calling him.

He hesitates before answering because he doesn't really know if it's a good idea to talk on the phone in a library, especially if it's Jack he's talking to. But, it is Jack, who only calls him when what he needs to say is important. If it isn't important, he would text him.

He clicks the answer button. "Is everything okay?" he asks into the phone. He hears a chuckle.

"Hey to you too," Jack says sarcastically. "How's school?"

"It's fine," Michael says, then repeats, "Is everything okay?"

"Why are you talking so quietly?" Jack asks him. If it was anyone else, Michael would think they were trying to avoid the question, but it's Jack Barakat, and Michael knows he gets distracted easily. Sometimes he thinks Jack has ADHD.

"I'm in a library," Michael says, then repeats, again, "Is everything okay?" He's starting to get slightly annoyed.

"Yeah, everything is fine," Jack answers. "Alex is currently giving a kid some vocal lessons, and I'm bored, so I thought I'd call you."

"Well then, you could have just texted me." What is the point of this phone call?

"Yeah, I know, and I was going to, but then I remembered there was something I wanted to talk to you about," Jack says, and Michael could swear he sounds a little nervous.

"Okay. What's up?" Michael asks, interest peaked. Jack lets out a long sigh.

"My parents are coming over for dinner tonight." Michael's heart stops when he hears the word  _parents._

"Oh," he says, trying not to sound damaged by that one word. He clears his throat before asking, "Why?"

"B-Because they... haven't seen me in a while... And they miss me," Jacks answers, not wanting to hurt Michael anymore. He knows this is a sore subject for Michael.

"Oh," Michael says again. It's all he can really think to say.

"Yeah, and I thought I should tell you, so you can do what you usually do when Alex's or my parents come to town." Normally, when any of their parents visit them, Michael just goes out to eat, so he can avoid running into them and the memories they carry with them of his parents. "But, you know, you are welcome to stay if you want to. I'm sure they would love to see you again. I mean, they did give you a roof to live under until you turned 18. They loved you like a son." Michael thought back to after his parents kicked him out and told him never to see them again.

-

_He was a mess. He didn't know what to do or where to go, and he was scared. He was crying his red, puffy eyes out, it was below freezing, and he just needed somewhere to go. He didn't have any money, though, so he couldn't get a hotel room or something, so he just found a bench to sleep on for the night._

_For 2 whole weeks, he didn't talk to anyone, not even Jack or Alex, he didn't eat, and he just lived on park benches, crying himself to sleep. Every once in a while, he would get a call from one of his 2 best friends, but he would never answer. Then, one night, it started raining. He didn't want to sleep in the rain, which meant he needed to find a place to stay for the night. Jack's parents had always been really nice to him. They would always let him sleep over if he had stayed at Jack's for too long studying, and it was too late to go home. So, that in mind, he decided to go to Jack's house._

_Jack's mom, Joyce, answered the door, and when she saw the state Michael was in, puffy red eyes, tear stained cheeks, and skinny figure drenched from head to toe, she immediately let him in and made him strip out of his wet clothes and found some spare clothes for him to put on. She told him that he could crash on the couch and that she'd call his parents in the morning, but then he told her that it wasn't a good idea. She asked him why, and he broke down. Everything just sort of started slipping out of his mouth. All that he had been going through._

_It felt really good to finally get everything off his chest._ _The best part was, she didn't kick him out like his parents did. Instead, she hugged him tightly and told him he could stay there as long as he needed._

_When Jack found out that Michael was there, he was relieved to see that his best friend was okay, but he was also mad that Michael hadn't told him or Alex about any of that. He did end up forgiving him, though. He could never hold a grudge. Also, his parents ended up letting him stay with them until he turned 18. Joyce was a stay at home mom, so when Jack was at school, Michael mostly just stayed at the house and helped her clean up, which she was very helpful for. Things were starting to look up for him._

_The only thing he didn't tell Joyce or Jack or Alex or anyone, was that although he was starting to get better, he hadn't completely stopped. He was still sneaking out sometimes, claiming he was going for a walk, but he wasn't. He had loved Jack's parents for everything they had done for him, but there were some things they just couldn't fix. Now, everytime he looks at them, he feels guilty for making them think he was okay when he wasn't. Even then, he knew that what he was doing was wrong. But he just couldn't bring himself to stop doing what he was doing because it made him feel good. Even if just for a couple of seconds, he forgot about everything, and it felt so good._

_-_

"Michael?" Jack says, snapping Michael out of his thoughts. "Are you still there?"

Michael clears his throat. "Yeah, sorry. Um, I think I'll just find something else to do instead. Thanks for letting me know." He wants to see Mr. and Mrs. Barakat again, to be able to thank them for everything they did to help him, but he couldn't. He just couldn't. Maybe when he's forgiven himself, he'll be able to see them again, but he'd still be worried that they haven't forgiven him yet.

Jack lets out a sigh. He sounds a little upset about Michael's decision. Jack has been trying to get Michael to talk to them again for years, but Michael knows he's too weak to say yes to that. "Alright. Well, I'll text when they're gone, so you can come back. Bye, Michael."

"Bye." And with that, they hung up. Michael stares at his phone. He starts looking through his contacts until he reaches one: Joyce Barakat. He stares at it.

He could never bring himself to delete her or Bassam Barakat from his contacts. Just in case he would ever grow the courage to call them. He sighs. Should he do it? How would she feel if she called him? Would she be happy to hear his voice? Confused as to why he's calling? Mad? What if she's mad? What if she hangs up, or doesn't even answer? No. He can't. He can't call her.

He turns his phone off, gets up, gathers his things, and walks out of the library, suddenly wanting to get away of the quiet atmosphere because the silence kept screaming at him to do something. Whether that something was to call Jack's parents, cry, or talk to the guy who's back was still facing him, he just couldn't take it anymore. It made him feel like he was losing it.

 

-

 

Government class is his next class after lunch and his final class. His teacher, Mr. Rose, was new here this year. That definitely meant he didn't recognize him. He didn't recognize anyone.

He gave them assigned seats, which is how he ended up halfway across the room from Luke. He's sitting next to some dude who just doesn't stop talking. Michael's not even sure who he's talking too because no one seems to be listening to him. Michael looks at Luke, who appears to be listening intently to what Mr. Rose is saying. He starts looking at everyone else in the room, and his eyes find Calum (of course). He's also watching the teacher, but he doesn't appear to be listening like Luke is. He's sitting on the row behind Michael, a couple of desks down.

Once the bell rings, Michael gets his stuff together and walks to Luke's desk. "Do you have a free period too, or is that just me?" he asks as Luke looks up at him.

Luke shakes his head. "Just you. You'll have to stay here and wait for me. Is that okay?"

"Yeah." If he's being honest, Michael kind of just wants to go home, but he guesses he can go back to the library and read more of  _The Sound and the Fury_ while he waits. It's not a big deal. He stops by his locker and the restroom before heading to the library, but once he gets there, he sees it's almost completely empty, except for one person.

Unbelievable. What are the odds that he has a free period as well and decided to spend it in the library? Maybe he doesn't have a free period. Maybe he's just skipping class.

Michael considers what he wants to do. Should he try talking to him? Yes. He should. He needs to make friends, and plus, this is a great time. Nobody else is around. It's just them.

Inhaling slowly, Michael makes his way towards the boy and sits down in the seat opposite of him without saying a word. He looks up from his phone at Michael through his eyelashes, and Michael smiles. It's now or never.

"Why are you always in the library?" Calum looks taken aback.

"What?"

"Why are you always in the library?" Michael repeats.

Calum looks around him, then shrugs. "I don't know. I guess I just like the atmosphere."

"Why?" Michael questions.

"Well, I mean, it's always quiet. Peaceful. It's nice." he answers thoughtfully. Michael laughs, and Calum looks at him with his eyebrows furrowed slightly, eyes narrowed. "Are you judging me?" he asks suspiciously.

Michael's eyes go wide. "No! No. I was just laughing because I was thinking the same thing yesterday. About it being nice and peaceful." Michael looks around the library, thinking about the past. "I used to come here during lunch all the time. Well-not here, but, uh, the library at my old school." That was close.

Calum nods, apparently not finding Michael's slip up suspicious. He looks back down at his phone, going back to what he was doing before Michael sat down in front of him. Michael watches him carefully. This is probably why he doesn't have many friends. He pays more attention to his phone than people. Michael wonders why that is. There's gotta be more than just he has a phone addiction. There's no way his addiction can be that bad.

Finally, after a couple of minutes, Michael gets bored, so he decides to say something. "You know, you don't really strike me as the type of person to have a phone addiction." Calum looks up from his phone.

"I'm not addicted to my phone," he says matter-of-factly.

"Really? Because it's only been about five minutes, and my plan to actually have a real conversation with has already gone down the drain because your phone is apparently much more interesting than me. You know, that can really damage one's self-esteem," he says overdramatically.

Calum laughs slightly, putting his phone up. "Okay," he says. "What do you want to talk about, then?" he asks, leaning forward and resting his forearms on the table in front of him. Michael thinks about it for a while. What should he talk about? All he really knows is that he wants to hang out with him and get to know him outside of school. He didn't think about anything in specific he wants to talk to Calum about. Maybe he should start with asking him to hang out with him and worry about what they'll talk about later.

So, he asks, "Are you doing anything on Saturday?" Calum stares at him, eyes narrowed. He's silent for a few seconds.

He laughs bitterly and says, "Not you too." With that, he grabs his bag and starts to get up. Michael's eyes go wide. What? Did he just get rejected? Has it really been that long since he's made a friend?

Wait.

_Not you too._

That's what he said. Oh my god. Does Calum think he was asking him on a date? No.

"Hey, wait!" Michael says, getting up and following Calum. "I wasn't asking you out on a date."

Calum stops. He turns to Michael, raising his eyebrow. "Really?"

Michael exhales, closing his eyes. This is going to be harder than he thought. "Look," he says, opening his eyes, looking right into the brown ones that he has come to know so well in just 2 days. "I just moved here. I only have one friend, and the only reason we're friends is because I knew his brother. It's been a long time since I have actually tried to make friends. But I'm trying to start over, which means I have to try to make new friends, and for some reason, I think you seem nice, even after Luke told me that you most likely aren't." he says, not realizing just how much he gave away. Calum looks blank. Michael really wishes he knew what he was thinking.

Calum closes his eyes and exhales. "So, this 'Luke' told you I'm a player and a jerk who breaks everyone's hearts, and you still want to go out with me?" Michael is shocked. He shakes his head frantically.

"No. No no no no no. I'm not asking you out on a date. I just want to hang out, like friends. I swear. I'm not interested in starting a relationship with you. Or anyone, really. I just moved here. I'm not like that." he says desperately. Why is he even trying so hard?

"You know, I've been tricked into going on a date with people before," Calum says. He laughs bitterly. "Many times, actually."

Michael exhales and closes his eyes. This isn't working out. "And they all sound just like this." It's more of a statement than a question, but Calum nods anyways.

"I really thought you were going to be different," he says before turning around again.

But Michael stops him. "Wait. You thought I was different?" Calum turns around again.

"Yeah."

"Why?" Michael asks, a small smile forming on his lips.

Calum sighs, looking a little bit annoyed. "I don't know," he shrugs. "I just thought you were different, and I kind of hoped you were." he looks Michael in the eyes. "But I guess I was wrong. You're just like everyone else." He turns around again, but this time Michael is bold.

This time, Michael grabs his arm, keeping him in place.

"Wait." Calum looks at him. "You're wrong. I'm not like everyone else. I'm different. I promise you. I'm different," he says because, honestly, he is. He's pretty sure no one else was 28 but made a wish to be 17 then woke up 17. "And if you hang out with me on Saturday-not as a date! If you hang out with me, I will prove it." Calum's quiet for a while, looking at Michael's hand on his arm. Then, he looks Michael in the eyes.

"Okay. Fine. Prove me wrong." 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. I'm going to start by saying that Ashton is not a bad person. I swear. Also, eventually, you will know Michael's full story, but I didn't want to give it away all at once because that's boring. Also, there will be more flashbacks coming up, and they will probably be more descriptive than this one.
> 
> Last thing, I have no idea when I will post the next chapter. I'm really just winging it right now, but I have something to do next weekend, so it may be a while. But I'll try to have it up soon! Thanks! c:


End file.
